Software-Defined Vehicle Experts in Germany
in minutes from over 15,000 CVs with the power of AI.Work with specialists who shape SDV architecture, in-vehicle software stacks, OTA update flows, and connected functions across infotainment, ADAS, and fleet services. Get fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.
Meet FRATCH Experts in Germany, who have recently used Software-Defined Vehicle
Arash Keshavarzi
Last position:
Global Digital Product Manager, IoT Services at Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH
- Responsibility for the further development of digital service products with a focus on customer value, profitability, and scalable growth
- Development and prioritization of the service product roadmap based on customer feedback, market analysis, financial evaluation, and technical feasibility
- Identification of new digital service opportunities as well as derivation of product requirements, feature priorities, and value propositions
- Alignment of product vision, roadmap, and user experience with product owners, center of competence, sales, service, and market organizations
- Support of go-to-market activities, market validations, and internal training for the successful launch of digital service offerings
- Use of data-based decision-making to assess customer needs, business model assumptions, and product progress
Ananthraj Narasappa
Last position:
Founder at sprhava
Leading the end-to-end development of Edge AI-powered smart glasses for visually impaired individuals, aligning product vision with user needs and managing a cross-functional team of data scientists, Android developers, AWS engineers, and hardware specialists.
- Defined product roadmap for Edge AI smart glasses and MVP features through user research, stakeholder interviews, and competitive analysis, ensuring accessibility and real-world usability.
- Developed and validated a PoC for AI-driven cancer cell identification in PET/CT scans, collaborating with medical experts to optimize diagnostic accuracy and clinical relevance.
- Built and scaled a multidisciplinary team of 75+ engineers, interns, and designers across Germany and India, driving cross-border collaboration and iterative prototyping.
- Established strategic partnerships with NGOs, healthcare providers, and advocacy groups to embed inclusivity and patient feedback into product design.
- Drove hands-on hardware-software integration using Raspberry Pi and Jetson Nano of AI models. Initiated and nurtured relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, and ecosystem players to build scalable go-to-market plans.
- Owned critical product decisions, from prototype development to funding strategy, applying a data-informed and impact-driven mindset.
- Fostered a learning-focused culture by facilitating brainstorming sessions and continuous feedback loops between engineering and product.
Achievements:
- Public speaker: Auto.Ai 2025 (Berlin), Wearable technologies 2025 (Munich and Bangalore), MEDICA 2024 (Dusseldorf)
- WMF, Bologna, Italy (June 2024): Only AI startup to be selected from Germany as EBV hero to represent sprhava on global platform
- Medica, Germany (2024): Delivered a speech on AI smart glasses in world's largest Healthcare event.
- Wearable Technologies, Bengaluru, India (Dec 2024): I was a speaker presenting sprhava and its product.
- Venturise Global Challenge (GIM 2025, Bengaluru Palace, Karnataka): sprhava was selected as one of the 16 top startups (ESDM) to present on this global platform
- Wearable Technologies Conference 2025 EUROPE, Munich, Germany (May 2025): Delivered a talk on Edge AI at the Europe's biggest wearable tech event.
- InsurNext Köln, Germany (2025): sprhava was honoured with a booth from Cologne administration.
Paul Birth
Last position:
Systems Engineer, Self-Driving Truck at TORC Europe GmbH
Adrian Kerber
Last position:
Freelance Management Consultant at PalmTree Kerber Consulting
- Designed and rolled out an architecture strategy, including training for over 200 employees
- Led the redesign of feature lifecycle management and the release process for an autonomous mobility company
- Created dashboards and C-level reports for a DAX-listed corporation to manage the development department
- Managed over 500 requirements for a software-defined vehicle
- Conceptually and technically evaluated future digital product portfolios of two vehicle platforms launching in 2026+, preparing 12 new features
- Developed a digital driving function, including establishing MBSE requirements management
Shaffi Shaik
Last position:
Software Architect at Volkswagen AG
- Designed architecture for new service components Fleet Data Management and other remote services.
- Created UML, SAD, SDS, and ADR documentation capturing design decisions, traceability, and variant handling.
- Ensured ASPICE SWE.1/SWE.2 compliance through architecture governance and consistent work-product alignment.
- Participated in architecture reviews, interface definitions, effort estimations, and technical alignment discussions.
- Collaborated with cybersecurity, backend, and compliance teams to ensure alignment with ISO 21434 and ASPICE standards.
Gernot Joswig
Last position:
External Strategy and Sales Consultant at Lufthansa Industry Solutions
- Advising management on scaling and diversifying the customer base in a B2B environment
- Strategic support for acquisition and presales activities, including positioning, proposal logic and customer target definition
- Support in building a dedicated sales organization (strategy, processes, role models, governance)
- Development of go-to-market approaches, sales processes and KPI-based control mechanisms
- Close collaboration with management, delivery and sales for sustainable market development and scaling
Christian Kocma
Last position:
Global Project Manager at Kocma Consulting
- Steering the initiative to become the number two used car platform in the UK and Germany by 2026 through OKRs
- Transforming global teams, senior leaders, C-level executives and cross-functional teams (40 direct stakeholders)
- Integrating teams into the existing global organization
- Coordinating the centralization and automation of reporting structures across all communication channels
- Increasing project end-to-end process efficiency by 30% within the first two months
- Setting up centralized project management using Gantt charts
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Statistics of experts using Software-Defined Vehicle
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
18 years
Position duration
2.2 years
Positions per freelancer
8
Top business areas
Product Development, Information Technology, Project Management
Top industries
Automotive, Information Technology, Manufacturing
Certification focus areas
Project Management, Information Technology, Quality Assurance
Bachelor's degree or higher
86%
Master's degree or higher
57%
Certifications per freelancer
2
Most common languages
German, English, Spanish
Speak two or more languages
100%
Based on our profile pool as of 30 Aug 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this technology in Germany are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range.
Average rates of experts in Germany using Software-Defined Vehicle
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 30 Aug 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
About the technology
What SDV means
Software-Defined Vehicle, often shortened to SDV, moves more vehicle behavior into software. Features are defined, updated, and improved through code instead of fixed hardware alone. That includes infotainment, driver assistance, diagnostics, and connected services.
Where it is used
- Central compute and domain control software
- Over-the-air update flows and release logic
- Vehicle data services and backend integration
- Infotainment, HMI, and app ecosystems
- ADAS and safety-related software coordination
It appears in passenger cars, commercial fleets, and mobility services. In Germany, it is especially relevant where OEMs, tier suppliers, and software teams need tight coordination across vehicle and cloud systems.
Typical toolchain
Strong professionals know automotive Linux, AUTOSAR Classic or Adaptive, middleware, CAN, Ethernet, and secure update pipelines. They also work with CI/CD, testing, diagnostics, and observability for embedded and cloud-connected parts.
- ECU and domain controller integration
- API and service design for vehicle functions
- Release, validation, and rollback planning
- Cybersecurity and access control for software updates
Why companies hire help
Teams bring in freelance expertise when SDV programs need short-term depth, niche architecture input, or support during a platform change. The need often shows up when legacy vehicle software must connect to modern service layers without breaking safety or timing requirements.
What strong specialists do
Strong SDV professionals can move between embedded software, cloud services, and vehicle constraints. They write clear interfaces, test under real vehicle conditions, and understand how hardware, middleware, and backend systems affect each other.
Good project fit
A company is usually ready for outside support when it needs a new platform layer, a feature rollout across variants, or help aligning software, security, and release work. Remote collaboration is common for planning and backend work, while on-site time in Germany can help with integration, vehicle testing, and stakeholder reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Not sure where to start with Software-Defined Vehicle? These answers cover the essentials.
A Software-Defined Vehicle is a vehicle whose functions are controlled and improved through software layers that can be updated after production. That covers infotainment, diagnostics, connectivity, and parts of ADAS. The key change is that software becomes a core product layer, not just a support function.
No, but they overlap. A connected car platform usually focuses on cloud services, data exchange, and remote features, while SDV also includes the in-vehicle software architecture, update model, and feature control. In practice, many programs need both.
A strong Software-Defined Vehicle specialist usually combines embedded software, automotive middleware, communication protocols, and testing discipline. Useful adjacent skills include AUTOSAR, automotive Linux, Ethernet, CAN, cybersecurity, and cloud integration. The best specialists also understand release management and vehicle validation.
Companies often bring in help when they are moving from ECU-centric systems to a centralized or service-based architecture. Software-Defined Vehicle work also gets urgent during platform migrations, OTA rollout planning, or when a feature must cross embedded and cloud teams. Freelancers are useful when internal teams need focused support without long ramp-up time.
It depends on scope, but SDV work is rarely a good fit for generalists alone. Projects that touch safety, update logic, or vehicle integration need specialists who have shipped real systems and can explain tradeoffs clearly. For smaller tasks, such as interface work or test automation, narrower expertise can be enough.
Software-Defined Vehicle programs often build on AUTOSAR or embedded foundations, but they go further by treating software as a lifecycle feature layer. Classic embedded work is usually tightly tied to hardware and fixed release cycles. SDV adds more updateability, orchestration, and cross-domain coordination.
Both are common. Software-Defined Vehicle planning, architecture, API design, and backend work can be done remotely, while integration, hardware access, and test drives often need on-site sessions. In Germany, hybrid setups are especially useful when teams must work across office, lab, and vehicle test environments.
Ask for concrete examples of vehicle software that was delivered, updated, or integrated across teams. A good Software-Defined Vehicle specialist can talk through architecture decisions, testing strategy, failure handling, and how they worked with safety, security, and release constraints. Clear explanations matter as much as the tooling list.
The average hourly rate of freelancers in Germany who have used Software-Defined Vehicle in their recent projects is 111 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 885 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers in Germany who have used Software-Defined Vehicle in their recent projects, 86% hold at least a Bachelor's degree and 57% hold at least a Master's degree.
On average, freelancers in Germany who have used Software-Defined Vehicle in their recent projects have 18 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 2.2 years.
The most common languages among freelancers in Germany who have used Software-Defined Vehicle in their recent projects are German (100%), English (100%), and Spanish (14%).
The most common industries among freelancers in Germany who have used Software-Defined Vehicle in their recent projects are Automotive (100%), Information Technology (71%), and Manufacturing (57%).
The most common business areas among freelancers in Germany who have used Software-Defined Vehicle in their recent projects are Product Development (100%), Information Technology (86%), and Project Management (86%).
Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used Software-Defined Vehicle
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
Berlin Hamburg Munich Cologne Frankfurt Stuttgart Dusseldorf Leipzig Dortmund Essen Bremen Dresden Hanover Nuremberg Request a free demo
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
